Congratulations to Senior Instructor John LaMaster (math) for ending the 2016-17 academic year with two new awards.

On April 25th in West Lafayette, LaMaster received Purdue University’s 2017 Digital Education Innovative Course Design and Use of Technology Award. The annual award recognizes “faculty and/or staff members who demonstrate excellence in the development or teaching of a distance learning activity” and “is intended to recognize accomplishment in innovation and use of technology in distance learning media.”

Jon Harbor, Purdue’s Director of Digital Education and Associate Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning, shared, “The committee was impressed by the extraordinary quality and scale of work that went into the design of the course and the great support from both faculty and administration.”

LaMaster also was selected as the 2017 recipient of the Leepoxy Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, which recognizes innovative teaching that enhances student learning. Judges noted that LaMaster’s “interactive videos make mathematical content not only understandable, but engaging and even fun.” A student on the selection committee remarked, “I hate math and I really like his videos.” The selection committee praised LaMaster’s work as “innovative” and “rooted in sound pedagogy and allows students to apply math to their everyday lives.”

LaMaster was informed of his award in April and will officially receive the Leepoxy Award at the 2017-18 IPFW Fall Convocation in August 2017. Congratulations, John!